KNOB (defunct)
| City | Long Beach, California |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 97.9 MHz |
| First air date | 1957 |
| Format | Now KLAX-FM |
| ERP | 79,000 watts |
| Callsign meaning | "Knob" |
| Former frequencies | 103.1 MHz (1957-1958) |
KNOB (97.9 FM), was a broadcast radio station on 97.9 MHz, licensed to Long Beach, California, with an effective radiated power of 79,000 watts.
It went on the air in 1957 on 103.1 MHz at 320 watts. Its owner was Sleepy Stein, who was able to get permission from the Federal Communications Commission for a power increase by switching the frequency to 97.9 in 1958.
KNOB started out as a jazz station, operating 16 hours per day as "The Jazz Knob". KNOB was the world's first all-jazz radio station. It broadcast from a studio at their transmitter site atop Signal Hill, near Long Beach Airport. The building and tower remain to this day, though the station has moved away to Flint Peak near Glendale. The station's original high-power transmitter was a Western Electric 10KW that had previously been installed at KNX-FM.
In 1966 the station was sold to the Pennino Music Company and operated by Jeanette Pennino Banoczi and husband Jack Banoczi. KNOB transitioned to MOR and eventually a soft adult contemporary format running on an SMC DP-2 automation system. KNOB's offices and studios were located at Euclid Avenue and I-5 in Anaheim, California. Voice tracks were provided by (now Ditech.com pitchman) Mike Villani, program director Madelaine Pennino, Michael Moore (as Michael Harris), Ed MacKay, A.J. Martin, and Richard Navarro.
In 1988 KNOB was sold to Spanish Broadcasting System and its format was changed to Spanish language. It is today known as KLAX-FM.
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